New Job!
Currently listening to: Whatcha Do To My Body - Lee Aaron
Current reading: Grease & Clue
Yes! It's true! Just like the title says, I have a new job! Yay for me!
The hotel's administration department needed someone for the Guest Relations position, a combination of a receptionist and an assistant to Sales & Catering, so on a whim I applied (just wondered what it might be like to try something new within the hotel) and lo and behold they accepted me for the position! I am surprised but am also very excited and looking forward to learning new things and seeing another side of the hotel's operations. My last front desk shift will be Saturday July 11th and then I start the new position on Monday July 13th. I will miss the desk; it is the 'hub' of the hotel and my co-workers are great but we'll still be in touch quite a bit so the change shouldn't be too difficult.
In other news, I should say something about my current reading materials, Grease & Clue. Well I have a part in the Regina Summer Stage production of Grease. I get to play Vince Fontaine, the smarmy, conceited, somewhat creepy & lecherous radio DJ who hosts the dance contest at the high school. I also appear briefly as the school principal in a couple of scenes and get to sing in virtually all the songs, just not necessarily on stage. It's a lot of fun and very unique, being one of the four token adults in a cast of teens & early 20-somethings!
As for Clue, it will be the first production of Regina Little Theatre's 2009-2010 season and I'm definitely auditioning for a part! Check out all the upcoming plays; should be a fantastic season. I think I will be auditioning for 4 out of the 5 actually (seeing as how Steel Magnolias is an all-female cast, I'll opt out of that one). Clue promises to be hilarious and a lot of fun to do; I really hope I can get a part! And I just wish to add for the record that the season that just ended was fantastic as well; 5 great shows and I was fortunate enough to be a part of 2 of them.
That's about all the news for now in Dave's World. Hope to 'see' you again soon!
DW
Farrah & Michael
Currently listening to: So Alive by Love & Rockets
Current reading: Grease & Clue
I was debating whether I should just shut this site down, seeing as how I post so rarely and sporadically, but I finally felt moved enough to jot some thoughts down today... I hate to give up on things, so maybe I'll give blogging one more shot.
First of all, the world of entertainment lost two brilliant stars today. Farrah Fawcett was an incredibly creative and free-spirited actress who faced cancer with a fierceness and determination that I can only hope to emulate should I ever face a similar crisis. I was never a "fan" per se, but seeing her fight this battle over the last few months was moving and inspirational and I am grateful for the influence and example she has left behind.
And Michael Jackson? Well, what can I say that won't be said a zillion times over in the days and weeks ahead? An incredible talent whose life's circumstances and wounds sadly did not let his full potential be seen. What he did or did not do with young boys is not for me to judge and if he was guilty, then I certainly do not condone or excuse him. But in honour of what good was there and the greater good that might have been, I will record this little anecdote, just as my tribute to him.
Let me take you back in the day when I was about 14, before MuchMusic or MTV or even "Video Hits" (click here or here if you have no idea what "Video Hits" was). Music videos were essentially a new creation, a genre that was ground-breaking and absolutely captivating to tweens & teens discovering music. You only saw vidoes on special shows that ran once in a while. Then NBC began running a show called "Friday Night Videos". Growing up in Newfoundland, thanks to the time zone difference, the show didn't actually come on till 12:30 or 1am (so I guess it was "Saturday Morning Videos" for us). But my friends and I would stay up that late in order to see the videos and to see who would win the "video vote" contest (American Idol was NOT the first show to get viewers to pick winners!). The first video on the first episode that I ever saw was Michael Jackson's "Beat It". I was dumbfounded. I had never seen anyone dance like that before. I had never heard a song so infectious, that just made me want to leap to my feet and dance like a maniac. I was hooked. I wanted so desperately to learn how to dance like that! Well, I never did learn Michael's moves (my moonwalk is pathetic!) but he brought to brilliant life in me an ember that had been burning for years: the love of and the desire to dance, to bring music to life, to make the sounds visible in movement.. and I have never looked back. I have never had lessons and I actually find learning choreographed steps very difficult, but when I can get on a dance floor and just let the song sweep me away and let myself be the visible incarnation of the music... I rarely feel so alive! And so for bringing that joy to life in me, I do say a heartfelt "thank you" to Michael Jackson. You will be mourned & missed, for what you were and could have been.
My deepest sympathies to Farrah & Michael's family & friends & fans.
Bidding a sad farewell but remembering with a smile in Dave's World,
DW
A Little Inspiration
Currently listening to: Sucks To Be You - Prozzak
Current reading: Nothing at the moment
In case you are not among the 13 million people who have yet to hear Susan Boyle's angelic voice and be inspired by her humility and the way she totally blew away the cynicism and negativity of untold thousands, please watch this little video. Scroll down the article (or better yet, read it!) and listen and be moved. Her story is a little similar to Paul Potts, an unassuming cell phone salesman who turned out to have an incredible operatic voice and who won the Britain's Got Talent contest. Miss Boyle is likely to repeat the feat, but even if she doesn't, she has already won the hearts of millions world-wide and deservedly so!
I had promised to give an update on how things went with Silver Dagger. Well, things went well, very well indeed! Good crowds and a run full of fun and surprises with a wonderful cast & crew; what more could an actor ask for? Opening night had a few really memorable moments; one of our leads kept calling her 'husband' by the wrong name, then as we tried to leave the stage in a black-out, we crashed into each other, then I forgot the name of a charcter I was in a scene with (but I think I covered it okay, as I was supposed to have forgotten something in the scene anyway!) and then finally I had a "prop malfunction" when the blood pack I was wearing refused to break until I squeezed it so hard it shot a stream of "blood" up into the air and all over the furniture! Good times!
All in all, I am feeling very inspired of late, what with the show's run and the confirmation for myself that I love theatre and want to do more and then Miss Boyle's performance just put icing on the cake. I hope you find something to inspire you today and every day as well!
Best wishes from a more inspired Dave's World!
DW
HAPPY EASTER
The title says it all; Happy Easter to one and all.
HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!
Celebrating in Dave's World,
DW
Performance Week
Currently listening to: Superhero by Sky
Current reading: Silver Dagger by David French
Well, here it is at last! We just had our tech run tonight for Silver Dagger. Tomorrow is the dress rehearsal and then a four show run! I'm really looking forward to it. Playing "Tony", the ex-con garage mechanic who aspires to be a mystery writer, has been a lot of fun. The ensemble cast & crew are also wonderful; great fun to hang out with and to work with, if this can truly be called "work"!
My only fear is that I am going to be EXHAUSTED by the week's end, as I will be up at 5am or 6am most every morning, then on the go until the play is done for the night, probably somewhere around 11pm. Yikes!
And then, on the 5th and 6th, come the auditions for the next & final play of the season, a Canadian comedy called Local Talent. There's only one male part and given that I have now participated in two shows this season, there's probably little chance that I would get cast yet again. But my love for performing will probably get me to go audition anyway, just for the fun of it!
Well, that's it for now... I'll let you know how the run goes!
Breaking a leg in Dave's World,
DW
Like a fish needs a bicycle...
Currently listening to: Achtung Baby - U2
Current reading: Silver Dagger by David French
The more I listen to Achtung Baby, the deeper my appreciation and enjoyment of it goes. I have to admit, I was one of the skeptics, when U2 released this CD as the follow up to The Joshua Tree / Rattle & Hum era of their work. It definitely sounded like "four men chopping down the joshua tree", which is how I believe Bono described it! But it gave them a whole new creative edge, added more layers to their unique sound and set the stage for everything that's come since... and No Line on the Horizon comes out tomorrow! CAN'T WAIT! Click the CD title to hear samples of the songs on it - one reviewer called it the album that Zooropa should have been. So far to me, it sounds like a mix of Zooropa & How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb... in any case, it will be awesome! :)
Well, that was unexpected... I hadn't planned on extolling U2 in this blog... digression comes early and easily, apparently. But then, I didn't really have anything in mind as a specific subject... I just wanted to get something "out there" so that anyone who does tune in knows I'm still blogging! :) So... there you have it. Nothing to say today... just letting you know I'm still in business and apparently, I'm a huge U2 fan!
Walk on, in Dave's World,
DW
A quiet day off
Currently listening to: P.A.S.S.I.O.N. by Rhythm Syndicate
Current reading: Silver Dagger by David French & U2 By U2
It's a beautiful day here in Regina and I have it off! I got my "stat" day today for the Family Day holiday on last Monday. I'm always off on Mondays, so I got my extra day today... so I have a three-day-weekend! Woo hoo!
I signed up for a correspondence course in Interior Design and have been working at it off and on; taking a little break. I'm not used to "homework" any more, so it's taking some getting used to, especially coming up with the discipline to actually sit down and do the work! It's pretty basic so far, but interesting nonetheless. I don't know if this is the first step into a new career path, but we'll see.
I also bought a new game: Hardwood Hearts. It's the classic game of Hearts that you can play against the computer on your PC but given a whole medieval makeover. You create an avatar and play against real people from all over the world. You can chat with them and you are given a rating based on how well (or poorly) you play (in my case, VERY poorly - lol). It's quite fun and a great way to unwind. However it can be addicting, so I limit myself to a couple of games at a time... unless I really have a lot of time to sit back and do nothing! I discovered the whole thing quite by accident several years ago now, back when you could play a trial version for free; I've only now gotten around to actually purchasing the game.
Well, that's about it for now... nothing earth-shattering today, just a little update on a quiet day off.
Relaxing in Dave's World,
DW
